Counter for flat articles



Feb. 12, 1946.

E. G. STAUDE COUNTER FOR FLAT ARTICLES Filed July 24, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 fow/zv 6. 67A uos A -raRNEYJ- Feb. 12, 1946.

E. e. STAUDE COUNTER FOR FLAT ARTICLES Filed July 24, 19.44. 3 SheefiS-Sheet 2 4 A/VENTOE E0 w/ ST z DE M $2.0M

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Feb. 12, 1946. E. s. STAUDE 2,394,945

' COUNTER FOR FLAT ARTICLES Filed July 24, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet. 3

I /NVENTOE ATToRNErJ Patented Feb. 12, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COUNTER FOR FLAT ARTICLES Edwin G. Staude, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application July 24, 1944, Serial No. 546,307

9 Claims;

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in apparatus for counting flat articles, and more particularly to counter mechanisms of the general character disclosed in my pending application, Ser. No. 456,512; More specifically it relates to an improved release for the counter mechanism operating arm whereby the latter may yield to variations in the thickness of the folded blanks or articles to be counted, as, for example, if a relatively greater stroke is imparted to the operating arm than is required to actuate the escapement mechanism, as in the event of a jam up, breakage or damage to the mechanism is prevented.

In the mechanisms disclosed in my Patents Nos. 1,113,503 and 1,154,451, and also in the mechanism disclosed in my pending application Ser. No. 456,512, lost motion or over-throw or over-running of the escapement mechanism operating arm is provided for by an auxiliary or separate spring which, under normal operating conditions, does not relatively stretch or elongate when an article to be counted engages the counter roller. However, should the article for one reason or another cause a relatively greater stroke to be imparted to the operating arm than is normally required to actuate the escapement mechanism, said spring will yield and thus prevent damage to the counter operating mechanism.

Counter operating mechanisms of the general character now commonly utilized by the trade, and more particularly counter mechanisms employing an operating arm comprising two complemental lever members such as shown in my pending application Ser. No. 456,512, above mentioned, have operated more or less satisfactorily for counting articles up to speeds of approximately 500 per minute. Due to the inherent construction of such mechanisms it has been impossible to operate them at speeds much higher than 500 per minute, largely because of the provision of a separate auxiliary spring for holding the lever members of the operating arm in relatively fixed relation with respect to one another, under normal operating condition. A relatively larger spring was also utilized for constantly urging the operating arm in a direction to hold the counter roller in feeding relation to its complemental roller.

The tension of the auxiliary spring above referred to is very important to the successful operation of such a counter mechanism, and it therefore requires very careful adjustment, which usually had to be performed by a skilled operator.

To increase the counting speed of such a machine above the figures hereinbefore given, it was frequently found necessary to increase the tension of one or both of said springs to prevent the parts of the arm from shifting their relative positions during each normal working stroke, which might cause the pressure of the counter roller upon the article to become so great as to cause damaging marks to be imparted to the articles to be counted, with possible damage or breakage to the machine parts.

The auxiliary over-running spring above re ferred to has always been a problem because it not only has required a separate adjustment to balance its tension with the speed of the machine, but at high speeds the inertia of the interconnected parts of the operating arm would frequently cause elongation of said spring before the arm had completed its effective stroke, which would result in an inaccurate count of the articles.

An important object of the present invention therefore is to provide an improved counter operating mechanism in which the aforementioned objections have been completely eliminated, and whereby a machine of the class described may be successively operated at much higher speeds than has heretofore been possible.

A further object of the invention is to provide a counter operating mechanism comprising an operating arm composed of twolever members and a spring-actuated rocker for holding said lever members in relatively fixed relation with respect to one another under normal operating conditions, and a single spring being provided for actuating the rocker and for constantly urging the operating arm in one direction, said spring and rocker permitting the lever members of the operating arm to relatively yield under abnormal operating conditions.

A further object is to provide a counter operating mechanism comprising a composite operating arm including two parts, one of which is secured to a rock shaft, and the other part being pivotally mounted on the first mentioned part and normally retained in operative relation thereon by a spring-actuated rocker pivotally mounted on whereby the rock shaft is operated to oscillate the operating arm and thereby actuate the escapement mechanism which in turn operates the counter.

A further object is to provide a simple and inexpensive operating mechanism for a counter of the class herein disclosed, which is positive and efiicient in operation, and in which slight variations in the thickness of the articles to be counted will have no ill effects upon the operation of the counter operating mechanism.

A further and more specific object of the invention resides in the provision of a two-part operating arm for actuating a counter, which arm requires the employment of but a single spring for its operation, and which spring may readily and conveniently be adjusted to adapt the counter operating mechanism for counting articles or stock of variant thicknesses.

Other objects of the invention reside in the unique construction of the two-part counter operating arm; in the manner of inter-connecting the parts of the operating arm by a suitable spring-actuated rocker; and in the means provided for relatively adjusting the parts of the operating arm to quickly and conveniently adapt the machine for counting articles of varying thicknesses, and with the assurance that all of the articles passed through the machine will be accurately counted.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the annexed claims.

In the accompanying drawings there has been disclosed a structure designed to carry out the various objects of the invention, but it is to be understood that the invention is not confined to the exact features shown, as various changes may be made within the scope of the claims which follow.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view showing a portion of an article counting mechanism with my invention embodied therein;

Figure 2 is a view substantially on the line 22 of Figure 4, more clearly showing the construction of the two-part counter operating arm;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 with some of the parts omitted, looking at the machine from the side opposite to that shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an end view of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a top view of Figure 1, with some of the parts omitted; and

Figure 6 is a plan view of the escapement mechanism which is actuated by the two-part operating arm shown in Figure 2.

To afford aclearer explanation of the invention herein disclosed, there is illustrated in Figure 1, for purposes of disclosure, a portion of the discharge end of a paper box making machine including a frame member 2, indicated in dotted lines in Figures 1 and 4, and which machine is similar to the one disclosed in my Patent No. 1,154,451. The box or article making machine includes a pair of endless conveyer belts 3 and 4, between which the boxe or articles 5 are conveyed through the machine. The conveyer belts 3 and 4 are supported at one end of the machine on suitable pulleys or wheels 26 and 21, respectively, secured to cross shafts 9 and 28 as indicated in dotted lines in Figure l.

A suitable article counting mechanism is provided at the discharge end of the machine and is shown comprising a bracket 12 secured to the machine frame 2 by suitable bolts I2, as indicated in Figure 4.

A pinion H is supported on a stud secured in the lower portion of the bracket I2 and is driven from the shaft 9 by suitable means, not shown in the drawings. The pinion ll meshes with a pinion l3 secured to a shaft l4 journaled in the bracket l2, as indicated in Figure 4. A suitable roller I5 is secured to the opposite end of the shaft 14 and is provided at its inner end with a suitable gear wheel IS which meshes with a similar gear I! secured to one end of a roller l8, The roller [8 is shown slightly smaller in diameter than the roller [5, and has a slightly narrower face a shown in Figure 4. The roller I8 is mounted on a suitable stud I9 carried by a crank arm 20, shown secured to one end of a rockshaft 2| journaled in the bracket 12.

An idler gear 22 is mounted for relative rotation on the shaft 2| and meshes with the pinion l3 as shown in Figure 3. The idler gear 22 is provided at one end with a suitable worm 23 which meshes with a worm gear 24 secured to the lower end of an upright shaft 25, indicated in dotted lines in Figures 1 and 3. The shaft 25 is journaled in suitable bearings provided in an upright supporting bracket l0 secured to the bracket l2, as shown in Figure 4.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that the shaft 25 will rotate continuously when the article making machine is in operation because of its driving connection with the gear 22 through the worm drive 23--24; the gear 22 being driven continuously as a result of its driving connection with the gears l3 and II. The gear H, as here inbefore stated, rotates continuously when the machine is in operation as result of its driving connection with the shaft 9.

The means for counting each individual article passing between the rollers 15 and 8, and the count indicating mechanism, are very similar to the corresponding mechanisms disclosed in. my pending application Serial No. 456,512, hereinbefore mentioned, and it is therefore deemed unnecessary to herein describe these mechanisms in detail.

Briefly, the article counter, generally designate. by the numeral 61, is shown supported on an angle bracket secured to the head 25 of the upn'ght bracket lil, as shown in Figure 4. The counter has a toothed wheel 68 adapted to be intermittently enga ed by an offset lug 43 provided on a disk 43 fixed to a cam plate or disl: 4|, secured to a suitable clutch mechanism, generally designated by the numeral 45, similar to the one illustrated in Figure 10 of my above mentioned pending application. The clutch mechanism serves to intermittently transmit power from the continuously rotating shaft 25 to the cam disk 43, thereby to reduce to a minimum the pressure exerted on the article by the rollers 15 and 18 to operate the counter.

The operation of the clutch 40 is controlled by an escapement mechanism comprising an escapement wheel 34 intermittently actuated by opposed teeth 46 and 41 carried by a slide mounted for reciprocal movement in a suitable uide provided in the head 29 of the bracket Hi. The cam disk 43 is secured. to a cam plate M of the clutch mechanism, which cam plate 4! is mounted for relative rotation with respect to the escapement wheel 34. The operation of the cam plate 41 is controlled entirely by rotation of the escapemcnt wheel 34. Each time the lug 43 of the cam disk 43 engages a tooth of the counter wheel 68 said wheel is rotated a portion of a revolution.

The cam plate 4| is adapted to actuate an arm 60 carrying a cam engaging finger 63 whereby the arm 60 is periodically oscillated in a direction against the tension of a spring 62. The arm 60 operates a count indicator 10 through a shaft Ii as shown in Figure 1, whereby for each revolution of the cam disk H the count indicator is actuated to laterally displace one of the counted articles or blanks from its normal line of travel, as illustrated in Figure 14 of my application Ser. No. 456,512.

An important feature of the present invention resides in the means provided for actuating the escapement wheel 34 whereby variations in the thickness of the articles being counted will have no eiiect upon the operation of the counter, and whereby even though the articles being counted may vary considerably in thickness, an accurate count thereof is obtained.

The means provided for thus operating the escapement mechanism is shown including an operating arm, generally designated by the numeral 99, comprising two lever members 9| and 92. The lever member SI is secured to one end of the rockshaft H by such means as a tapered pin 93, and the lever member 92 is pivoted to the member 9| by a suitable pin 94, shown located adjacent to the lower end of the member 9i. The upper end of lever member 92 is shown having a fork 95 pivotally connected to one end of the slide 30 by a pin 96. Oscillation of the lever 92 thus imparts reciprocal movement to the slide.

Oscillatory movement is imparted to the operating arm 99 by the passage of articles or cartons between the rollers I and I8, as shown in Figure 1. The roller I8, as previously stated, is mounted on the crank arm 20 which in turn is secured to the rockshait 2| whereby when the roller I8 is elevated by engagement of an article a rocking movement is imparted to the shaft 2I, as will be clearly understood.

The specific construction of the operating arm 90 is of utmost importance in the successful operation of the counter. The two lever members 9| and 92 are normally retained in their operative positions, shown in Figure 2, by a suitable rocker 91 which is pivotally mounted on a stud 98 secured to the upper end of the lever member 9I. One end of the rocker 91 engages an offset lug 99 on the lever member 92, and a suitable spring IOI has one end connected to the opposite end of the rocker 97 below the pivot 98. The opposite end of the spring IOI is attached to an adjusting screw I92 shown received in an open slot I03 provided in an arm I04 of the upright bracket M. An adjusting nut I05 is received in threaded engagement with the threaded stem I02 and has one end seated in a recess provided in the arm I04.

The spring IOI serves a dual purpose in that it constantly urges the operating arm 90 in a direction towards the bracket I0, and at the same time yieldably retains the lever members 9| and 92 in their normal fixed relation, shown in Figure 2.

To vary the positions of the lever members M and 92 with respect to one another, an adjusting screw I05 is shown received in threaded engagement with a hub It! provided at the upper end of the lever member St. The inner end of the adjusting screw I96 engages a face I08 on the lever member 92 and the opposite end of said screw is provided with a wing nut I 09 to facilitate rotating the screw. The screw is retained in adjusted position by a suitable locking device, generally designated by the numeral I I 0.

In the operation of this novel counter operating mechanism the gap or space between the peripheries of the rollers I5 and I8 is adjusted to accommodate the minimum thickness of the articles or cartons to be passed therebetween for counting. This adjustment is readily effected by manipulation of the Wing nut I09 which, it will be understood by reference to the drawings, will relatively oscillate the lever member 9| with respect to its complemental lever member 92, the upper end of the lever member 92 being temporarily restrained against movement as a result of the tooth 41 on the slide 30 being seated against the teeth of the escapement wheel 34. After the parts have been so adjusted, each time an article or carton 5 is fed between the rollers I5 and I8, the rockshaft will be operated to oscillate the operating arm 99 in a direction towards the right, when viewed as shown in Figure 2, whereby the tooth 45 on the slide 30 will engage one of the teeth of the escapement wheel on the side thereof opposite from the lever member 92. Such oscillation of the operat ing arm is against the tension of the spring IOI, which operates to return the operating arm to a position whereby the tooth 41 of the slide 30 will engage a tooth of the escapement wheel 34, which thus serves as a limit stop for limiting swinging movement of the operating arm in a direction towards the upright supporting bracket I0.

If it is desired to vary the spacing between the rollers I5 and I8, the adjusting screw I06 is rotated by manipulation of the Wing nut I09, as will be understood. The spacing between the rollers must always be slightly less than the minimum thickness of the articles whereby the rollers may rip the article with sufiicient pressure to feed them therebetween. Should the articles to be counted accidently be fed between the rollers I5 and 18, two at a time, a relatively greater movement obviously i imparted to the crank arm 20 which may cause the tooth 46 of the slide to engage-the bottom of the teeth on the ratchet wheel 34 before the lower lever member 9| reaches its maximum stroke. Under such conditions the lever member 9I will move relatively to the lever member 92, or, in other words, the terminal of the adjusting screw I05 will move out of engagement with the lug I08 on the lever member 92, thereby relieving the lever member 92 of severe strains and thus preventing damage to the articles and the machine parts. When the relatively thicker article or carton move out of engagement with the rollers I5 and I 9, the terminal of the adjusting screw I06 will again move into engagementwith the lug I08 of the member 92 as a result of the spring IOI, whereby the lever members are immediately restored to thei normal operating relation, shown in Figures 1 and 2.

The novel apparatus hereindisclosed has been found extremely efiicient in operation and has made it possible to readily and conveniently adjust the machine from one speed to another without interrupting the operation of the machine. This is accomplished by the simple manipulation of the wing nut I09. Also as a result of the inherent construction of the operating arm 99, the machine may readily and quickly be adapted for handling various types of carton-s without losing valuable time, and with the assurance that an accurate count of all articles fed therethrough will be obtained at all times.

When adjusting the spacing between the rollers i5 and i8 by manipulation of the wing nut I09, it is to be understood that such spacing must be less than the minimum thickness of any of the articles or blanks to be fed between said rollers, so that the rollers will have sufiicient grip on the article to feed them therebetween without interruption, and with the assurance that the rockshaft 2! will be rocked sufiiciently to cause the upper end of the operating arm 90 to shift the slide 30 sufficiently to the right, when viewed as shown in Figure 2, to cause the tooth 46 of the escapement slide 30 to engage and partially rotate the escapement wheel 34.

Actual experience has proven that by the employment of the novel operating arm hereindisclosed in a machine provided with a counting mechanism such as disclosed in my pending application hereinbefore mentioned, all overrunning or irregularities in the counting of the articles or blanks is completely eliminated. Also because of the unique construction of the operating arm 90, a much lighter pressure is exerted on the articles by the counter rollers whereby the danger of said rollers marring or in any Way damaging the surfaces of the articles is elimihated, and noise and wear is greatly minimized.

In the manufacture of small paper boxes or cartons, the counting mechanism should desirably be so constructed as to accurately count articles greatly varying in thickness as, for example, from .010 of an inch up to .060 of an inch, or more. The operating arm 90 makes such varied adjustment of the counter mechanism possible without loss of time, and always with the assurance that an accurate count of all articles passed between the counter rollers l5 and i8 is obtained.

Furthermore, because of the yieldability of the operating arm 90, articles or blanks which may greatly vary in thickness may pass through the machine without difliculty, and even in the event that two articles or blanks should be fed between the rollers l5 and [8 at one time, the operating arm will yield to permit the rollers to separate sufficiently to permit passage of such articles without damaging the articles or any of the parts of the machine, and without causing the machine to jam.

Also by the employment of the novel operating arm hereindisclosed, a carton or box making machine equipped with a counter operating mechanism such as hereindisclosed, may be operated at a much higher speed than has heretofore been possible with mechanisms of this general type. For example, with my improved mechanism, articles or blanks may now be fed through the machine and the counting mechanism at the rate of approximately 2000 or more per minute without diniculty, and with the assurance that all of the blanks will be accurately counted, and no damage iinparted thereto by the rollers l5 and I8. Such improved operation has resulted in a material saving in manufacturing costs, as will be understood.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I have accomplished at least the principal objects of my invention, and it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiment herein described may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that the invention is capable of uses and has advantages not herein specifically described; hence it will be appreciated that the herein disclosed embodiments are illustrative only, and that my invention is not limited thereto.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an apparatus for counting flat articles, a counter, a pair of rollers between which the articles to be counted are fed, a rockshaft having a crank arm secured thereto and carrying one of said rollers, an operating arm secured to said shaft and having an operative connection with the counter, whereby when the rockshaft is rocked by passage of an article between said rollers, the counter is actuated, said operating arm comprising two lever members and a rocker, and a single spring for exerting a force on said rocker to cause it to secure together said lever members for operation as a unit and without movement relative to one another under normal operating conditions, said rocker permitting relative movement of said lever members under abnormal operating conditions to prevent damage to the article or mechanism.

2. In an apparatus for counting fiat articles, a counter, a pair of rollers between which the articles to be counted are fed, a rockshaft having a crank arm secured thereto and carrying one of said rollers, an operating arm secured to said shaft and having an operative connection with the counter, whereby when the rockshaft is rocked by passage of an article between said rollers, the counter is actuated, said operating arm comprising two lever members and a rocker, and a single spring connected to the rocker and constantly exerting a force therein to secure together said lever members for operation as a unit and without movement relative to one another under normal operating conditions, said rocker permitting relative movement of said lever members under abnormal operating conditions to prevent damage to the article or mechanism, and a single spring for energizing said rocker and constantly urging the operating arm in one direction.

3. In an apparatus for counting fiat articles, a counter, a pair of rollers between which the articles to be counted are fed, a rockshaft having a crank arm secured thereto and carrying one of said rollers, an operating arm secured to said shaft and having an operative connection with the counter, whereby when the rockshaft is rocked by passage of an article between said rollers, the counter is actuated, said operating arm comprising two lever members, one pivoted to the other, and a rocker pivoted to one of said lever members, and a single spring connected to said rocker and constantly exerting a force thereon to cause the rocker to secure together said lever members for operation as a unit and without movement relative to one another under normal operating conditions, said rocker permitting relative movement of said lever members under abnormal operating conditions to prevent damage to the article or mechanism.

4. In an apparatus for counting flat articles, a counter, a pair of rollers between which the articles to be counted are fed, a rockshaft having a crank arm secured thereto and carrying one of said rollers, an operating arm secured to said shaft and having an operative connection with the counter, whereby when the rockshaft is rocked by passage of an article between said rollers, the counter is actuated, said operating arm comprising two lever members, one pivoted to the other, and a rocker pivoted to one of said lever members, and a single spring connected to said rocker and constantly exerting a force thereon to cause the rocker to secure together said lever members for operation as a unit and without movement relative to one another under normal operating conditions, said rocker permitting relative movement of said lever members under abnormal operating conditions to prevent damage to the article or mechanism, and means carried by said lever members for relatively varying the spacing between said rollers to adapt the apparatus for counting articles of varying thicknesses.

5. In an apparatus for counting flat articles, a counter, a pair of rollers between which the articles to be counted are fed, a rockshaft having a crank arm secured thereto and carrying one of said rollers, an operating arm secured to said shaft and having an operative connection with the counter, whereby when the rockshaft is rocked by passage of an article between said rollers, the counter is actuated, said operating arm comprising two lever members, one pivoted to the other, a spring-actuated rocker for normally securing together said members for operation as a unit and without movement relative to one another under normal operating conditions, said rocker permitting relative movement of said lever members under abnormal operating conditions to prevent damage to the article or mechanism, and an adjusting screw carried by one of said lever members and engagable with the other for relatively adjusting said members with respect to one another, thereby to vary the spacing between said rollers.

6. In an apparatus for counting flat articles, a counter, a pair of rollers between which the articles to be counted are fed, a rockshait having a crank arm secured thereto and carrying one of said rollers, a lever member secured to said shaft, a second lever member pivotally mounted on said first lever member and having an operative connection with the counter, and a springactuated rocker pivoted on one of said lever members and engaging the other of said members and normally securing together said members for operation as a unit and without movement relative to one another under normal operating conditions, said lever members and rocker cooperating to provide a composite operating arm for transmitting motion from the rockshaft to the counter to actuate the latter, when an article is fed between said rollers, said rocker permitting relative movement of said lever members under abnormal operating conditions to prevent damage to the article or mechanism.

'7. In an apparatus for counting fiat articles, a counter, a pair of rollers between which the articles to be counted are fed, a rockshaft having a crank arm secured thereto and carrying one of said rollers, a lever member secured to said shaft, a second lever member pivotally mounted on said first lever member and having an operative connection with the counter, a spring-actuated rocker pivoted on one of said lever members and engaging the other of said members and normally securing together said members for operation as a unit and without movement relative to one another under normal operating conditions, said lever members and rocker cooperating to provide a composite operating arm for transmitting motion from the rockshaft to the counter to actuate the latter, when an article is fed between said rollers, said rocker permitting relative movement of said lever members under abnormal operating conditions to prevent damage to the article or mechanism, and a single spring for energizing the rocker and constantly urging the operating arm in one direction.

8. In an apparatus for counting fiat articles, a counter, a pair of rollers between which the articles to be counted are fed, a rockshaft having a crank arm secured thereto and carrying one of said rollers, a lever member secured to said shaft, a second lever member having one end pivotally mounted on said first lever member adjacent to the rockshaft and having its opposite end operatively connected to the counter, a rocker pivoted on one of said lever members and having one end engaging the other of said members, a spring connected to the opposite end of the rocker and constantly urging said rocker in a direction to secure together said lever members for operation as a unit and without movement relative to one another under normal operating conditions, said lever members and rocker cooperating to provide a composite operating arm for transmitting motion from the rockshaft to the counter to actuate the latter, when an article is fed between said rollers, said rocker permitting relative movement of said lever members under abnormal operating conditions to prevent damage to the article or mechanism.

9. A count indicating mechanism comprising a rock shaft arranged to be actuated by an article to be counted, an escapement Wheel and, an escapement bar, a jointed arm comprising upper and lower members, the lower member being secured to the rock shaft and the upper member operatively connected to the escapement bar and pivoted on the lower member, a threaded hub on the upper end of the lower member, an adjusting screw in said hub, a stud secured to the lower member adjacent to said hub and having a reverse motion lever pivoted thereon, one end of said reverse motion lever bearing against said upper member, and a single spring connected to the opposite end of said reverse motion lever for constantly holding the upper member against said adjusting screw whereby said spring will actuate the escapement bar and also provide a yielding connection between the spring and lower member of the jointed arm.

EDWIN G STAUDE. 

